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JC Men's Basketball: Cabrillo College no match for top-ranked City College of San Francisco

APTOS -- For as well as the Cabrillo College men's basketball team played early on against visiting City College of San Francisco, it didn't seem to matter as soon as Dulani Robinson came into the game.

"He's been coming in and doing that on a regular basis," Rams head coach Justin Labagh said.

Having a sixth man like Robinson is part of the reason why City College is the top-ranked team in California.

The freshman guard out of McClymonds High in Oakland scored 17 of his game-high 19 points in the final 12 minutes of the first half and sparked an all-out Rams run as City College remained perfect on the season with an 82-51 nonconference victory Saturday night in Aptos.

A year ago the Seahawks (8-6), then a No. 8-seed in the Northern California Regional Playoffs, upset top-seeded San Francisco 76-70 in overtime. But hoping for history to repeat itself, Cabrillo instead had few answers for the Rams' on-ball pressure defense, which forced 18 turnovers and too many transition baskets.

Robinson, for one, took advantage.

"We turned the ball over way too much," said sophomore C.J. Grigg, who finished with six points. "But coming into this game, we knew we had to take care of the ball, and we didn't do that.

"Their on-ball pressure was really good."

The Seahawks will look to snap a two-game skid when they host Modesto on Thursday at 6 p.m.

Colin Gruber, despite an off night shooting, finished with a team-high 16 points for Cabrillo, which is ranked No. 11 in Northern California. Dalton Noble added nine points and Jake Harrell chimed in with six.

"I thought they would (be thinking of last year). But I felt confident coming into this game. As a team, we all felt confident," Grigg said. "It just didn't turn out like we had hoped."

The Rams (15-0) are the last remaining undefeated team in the state and own the No. 1 ranking by the California Community Colleges Men's Basketball Coaches Association as a result. They haven't been held below 70 points total this season.

Although it seemed like Cabrillo might be the first team to limit the high-powered offense early on, everything was flipped on its head when Robinson checked into the game.

In the final 12 minutes of the first half, Robinson scored 17 points, including 13 straight, and had four steals and four assists. A game that was 15-all with 11:10 remaining instead was 44-26 City College at halftime.

"He deserves to start for us," Labagh said. "But we just told him, hey, it's probably better that you come in as our sixth man and give us a spark if we need it. And he's been doing it."

Why change a good thing?

Robinson was 7 of 8 from the field in the first half, 3 of 4 from behind the arc.

Teammate Quincy Smith and Namuji Madoshi each added 10 points apiece for the Rams, who received contributions from 12 players and 51 points off the bench. The Rams shot 48 percent (29 of 61) from the field and were 18 of 24 from the free-throw line.

Cabrillo was 39 percent (18 of 46) from the field and 12 of 15 from the stripe.

It's safe to say City College is the best team Cabrillo has faced all season, and very well could be the best team they will face for the remainder of the slate.

The Seahawks perhaps haven't seen a pressure defense like City College's, either.

"It's one thing if you turn the ball over and you kick the ball out of bounds, we can get back and play defense. But if you turn the ball over and it's a live turnover and they can run out and dunk it or lay it up, well, I don't have a defense for that. Nobody does."

Although Marcopulos said this year's CCSF team is better than last year's version, pressure defense has been a problem for Cabrillo this season.

It has been a factor in five of their six losses, the coach said. The team hasn't been able to bounce back in that respect since losing starting point guard Warren Jackson to a season-ending ACL injury on Nov. 18.

"It really hurt our ability to break down pressure," Marcopulos said of Jackson's absence. "But those are the circumstances we have and it is what it is. We're looking forward to getting into league."

The Seahawks will open Coast Conference play Jan. 9 at San Jose City College.